Top 10 stories to watch in 2014
10.) Corona del Mar High School cheating: What disciplinary actions will students accused of hacking into the school system and changing grades face next year?
9.) Fairview Park trail: Costa Mesa is set to complete environmental repairs to the vernal pools at Fairview Park.
8.) Banning Ranch: An Orange County Superior Court judge found that the proposed residential-commercial project violated Newport Beach’s general plan, but the city said the ruling will not stop the development from going forward.
7.) Sunset Ridge Park: Newport Beach broke ground on the ambitious new park in December, and work will continue on this new “active” space in 2014.
6.) District 2 supervisors’ race: County Supervisor John Moorlach is termed out, and Assemblyman Allan Mansoor (R-Costa Mesa), State Board of Equalization member Michelle Steel, Huntington Beach City Councilman Joe Carchio and Coast Community College District trustee Jim Moreno want to replace him.
5.) CMPD staffing: The Costa Mesa Police Department experienced difficulty hiring in 2013, in part because of the city’s challenging political climate, police told the Pilot. Will the issue be worked out in 2014?
4.) D.A. investigation: The Orange County district attorney is investigating why a private investigator and a law firm employed by the police association followed Costa Mesa Mayor Jim Righeimer and why someone possibly placed a tracking device on Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger’s vehicle.
3.) Council members’ lawsuit: Costa Mesa Mayor Jim Righeimer and Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger have sued the Costa Mesa Police Officers Assn., alleging harassment. What will happen to police-council relations as the case progresses?
2.) Costa Mesa election: School board trustee Katrina Foley is getting into the council race, and her political opposite, Mayor Jim Righeimer, is up for reelection. Which one of them will have the majority following Election Day?
1.) Fire rings: Newport Beach is considering a compromise solution — gas-powered rings and fewer of them. Will the idea go forward or up in smoke?